Month: January 2012

I want to thank everyone who stopped over to read the interview with EL and of course, who participated in the contest! Some of you did the extra entries and it made a big difference in the end. When you do the extra entries like that, your name is put in the drawing up to five times….so always do the extra entries!!

I loved reading who you all thought could be Fifty! It was a lot of fun! Personally, I think Ryan Gosling could be Fifty and I LOVE this picture of him.

Now, for the winner. I used Random.org. It’s only fair to use it instead of me just picking a winner myself. So the winner is…..

TAMMY!!!

Congratulations Tammy! Please email me at mysecretromanceblog@yahoo.com so I can get your book to you!

When I woke up early one morning to an email asking if I wanted to be part of the Fifty Shades Freed Tour, I said to myself, HELL YES I DO! I fell head over heals in love with Fifty the books, and thought this was too good to be true. I honestly thought this was a cruel joke someone was playing on me. Really, I did. I had never been asked to part of a blog tour before so I thought it was really cool. I filled out the Google form and waited……and waited……and waited.

This is how I felt. I swear this could pass as me too! What can I say? I’m an inpatient woman.

If you haven’t heard of The Fifty Shades Trilogy….then you must be living in a bubble. That bubble needs to be popped asap so you can get cracking on reading these books! Fifty is so, so….bossy, delectable, addicting and deliciously so! Ana is a gem to read too, but seriously, it’s allll about Fifty. Whenever I see an Audi now, I will forever associate it with this trilogy….and I’m ok with that. This story makes me all warm and tingly inside. 🙂

A few weeks later, I finally received the email I was hoping for. I was part of the Fifty Shades Freed tour! *SQUEE* I was beaming with joy! How cool to be apart of this awesome book tour? I’m not quite sure how I managed it in the first place, but I am so beyond happy and grateful that I could be part of the Fifty Shades Freed Tour.

Fifty 1

Fifty 2

I figured since this was probably the one and only chance I had to talk books with the creator of our beloved Fifty, I had soooo many questions I wanted to ask her! Like who does she see as Fifty? My head was seriously swimming with questions. But my grandma’s voice rang loudly through my head of her saying, “Taryn, it’s not always what you want” or “Taryn, it’s not always about you!” *sigh* Isn’t that the truth. So then I thought it would fun if the fans of the Fifty Shades Trilogy were able to questions as well. And that’s what I did.

Fifty 3

Oh, did I mention that I will be doing a giveaway today too besides the interview? Well, I am! Not only will there be an interview to day, but I will be giving away a Kindle copy of Fifty Shades Freed too. If you do not have a Kindle, have no fear! I can give away an ebook copy from The Writers Coffee Shop website (where the books are published from). All you have to do it leave a comment and fill out the Google form to entered in the drawing. The giveaway will go until Friday night and I will choose a winner using Random.org on Saturday.

Fifty 4

As you see, I’ve posted pictures of hunky men who could pass as Fifty. Well, I think who could pass as Fifty. All you have to do to be entered in the contest is leave a number to which man you think would pass as Fifty. If you don’t like any that I posted that’s ok! I won’t be upset. 🙂 You can always post a picture of one that you have in mind or a name. And if you haven’t read the books yet, still post who you like.

Fifty 5

Ok…back to my train of thought….So without further ado, please give EL a warm welcome and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. And don’t forget to fill out the form and leave a comment to win Fifty Shades Freed!

Hi Erica,

Thank you for taking the time out to answer our questions. I really appreciate it and your fans do too. Thank you! Thank you, Taryn for giving me some precious blog time. It’s much appreciated.

Will we be seeing Jose, Mia, and Ethan get their HEA? Maybe in a spin-off series or a long novella? -Amanda C.You know I haven’t thought about this. I’d have to go away to a small dark room and lie down and think – but it’s an idea.

Coming from a media background myself, was it hard for you to take yourself and your passion for passion seriously when romance novels are, shall we say, NOT taken seriously as a genre in mainstream media? I worked in media sales selling airtime and ad-space for over ten years and yet with all my networking connections, never felt brave enough to bring up my “hobby” which was writing. In fact, I often took a ribbing when people (and not just men) saw whatever novel I wasreading–usually something by Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham or Karen Robards.

-Your fellow author, Kathryn Gayle

I used to work in the center of London and take the tube into work everyday. It was a horrible commute and I used to pick up Catherine Coulter, Heather Graham and Karen Robards novels and devour them on the tube – but you’re right I didn’t talk about them – and I was one of those people that didn’t like naked torsos on the front cover of the book I was reading – as those books are such guilty pleasures (or so I thought at the time.) I used to fold the covers back and risk the person sitting next to me reading what I was reading… and that was embarrassing too. Anyway I digress – once I started writing I had no problem telling the people I work with that I did. I think you get to a certain age and you really don’t give a toss what people think – and it’s very liberating. So yes – I am constantly teased by my work colleagues about what I write – and I just brazen it out. 🙂

Okay this is going to sound crazy but do you ever get tired of writing? *gasp,* Yes, I asked. I know you are a new author, but sometimes we even get tired of what we love. If you do get tired, how do you pick yourself up and get back to it? Also, is there anything you collect? Like rare books? Or coins? Or anything like that? -Dawn S.

Yes I do. At the moment I have so much going on that I don’t have very much time to write but it makes me restless – I think I need a holiday after all these shenanigans, somewhere warm – and I’ll get on with the next thing. I don’t really collect anything… I wish I could say young men but it’s not true… and my husband might get a bit grumpy with me.

Did you do any “kinky fuckery” research for the books? Like look into Dom/Sub clubs and such to research the toys, safe words, and the contract? Or even have to go to stores just to be familiar withwriting about spreader bars, and anal beads, and ben wa balls? -Alana

Yes. (Nuff said)

Are you planning on doing any other series similar to The Fifty Shades Trilogy? -Janna S.

I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. Right now I want to lie down in a small dark room for a few days!

BDSM books aren’t always my cup of tea, but I loved the way you incorporated it into your series. Fifty and Ana’s love scenes were steamy, hot, and sexy. Will you continue to write stories with BDSM? -Anna

I have one BDSM idea… which is a bit more hardcore – similarish to Fifty… but different – but I am not sure if this is what I am going to write next.

So, I have to ask. Is there a real Fifty in your life? Please say YES! Well, maybe you shouldn’t tell us….we may hunt you down to find him!

This always makes me giggle when people ask me. Fifty is kind of based on one person I know from my past – but really – he’s a fantasy guy… my fantasy guy that I felt brave enough to share with everyone.

Will Christian ever get his own POV book?

Maybe – if people want to read it… maybe after I’ve done something else. Never say never eh?

What motivates you to write? Your inspirations?

I just enjoy telling a story. I am the world’s worst joke teller (ask my husband)… so I have to make up for that somehow. I like to take a one line simple idea – and daydream around it and see where will it go. Fifty started with – what if you met someone who was into BDSM and you weren’t interested… what would you do?

I’ve heard talk that you are planning, or in the process of, writing another book series. I was told this time it be for the young adult genre. Is that true? If so, why did you decide to do YA and can youplease give us a little of what it’s about?

Well I think it’s YA – I am very confuzzled by all these genres – for me it’s just another story – and it’s a ghost story I originally wrote in 2009 which I am re-writing at the moment. Basically it’s a story about grief – it’s a real barrel of laughs – let me tell you.

When I first starting reading the trilogy, I had no idea it was a Twilight Fanfic. I didn’t find out until the middle of the second book and to be quite honest, I was shocked! I had no idea! If I really lookclosely at it, I guess I can see similarities, but yet they are so completely different. What made you do a fanfic of Twilight? Was it just for fun? Did you ever expect them to become so popular? For therecord, and not just because I have you on my blog today, I’d chose Fifty over Edward and Jacob any day! I’m sure many ladies would too!

Yes it was just for fun – and it became insanely popular and people started talking to me about publishing – and eventually I did. The reason I did it, is because in November 2008 I watched Twilight the film – and loved it – (I went to the cinema ten times to see it) and for Christmas I asked my husband for the books. On 27th December 2008 I sat down and read them in five solid days – and I just adored them. My work life was not very happy at the time so I escaped into these books and read them, and re-read them and re-read them (something I very rarely do with a book.) At the end of January – I sat down and wrote my first novel. And then I wrote another one – and in August 2009 I discovered Twilight fan fiction – which I thought was completely weird – I’d never heard of fan fiction before. I read a few fics – and thought – I want to have a go at this – so I did. I wrote my first one in 3 weeks… and then I started what became Fifty Shades –and it was enormous fun to do. And no I never expected the fics to be popular or the novels… but they are – which is great.

In Fifty Shades Freed, it feels more of an erotic romance with elements of bdsm. Is that what you were going for?

Again – this is is this genre thing cropping up – I was just telling Christian and Ana’s story – and this is where it went.

For readers, we love when book covers match the story. Did you design the covers of the books yourself? I really love them. Simple, to the point and it matches your story!

I wanted very simple covers that I would not be embarrassed to read on the tube. So yes – they all had to be items that were worn. I was going to do wedding rings for the final book – but that kind of gave away what happened at the end – so I decided on the handcuffs. Initially I wanted an undone black bowtie for the first book – but Amanda (my publisher) and I couldn’t find one that I liked on the sites we used – so Amanda found the silver tie – but not in the right format – when I found the one in portrait format I knew that’s what I wanted. Jenn our designer did the design. I wanted a mask for the second – which was much easier to find.

Why did you choose The Writer’s Coffee Shop to publish your books?

I think it was June 2010 I asked the Writers Coffee Shop if they would be interested in publishing and Amanda Hayward the CEO said yes immediately. I then got cold feet and didn’t think about it again. Every month or so Amanda would get in touch… and hassle me. Then in January 2011 a dear friend of mine published his story… and I thought ‘well if he can do it…’ so I called up Amanda and the rest is history.

From the moment you meet Master Cullen, there is something seriously alluring and seductive about him. You want more…much, much more of him. When Master Cullen told Kari he’d top her in the second book, Dark Citadel, I was done. The phrase ‘hooked, line and sinker’, could easily describe how I felt about him.

“I’ll top you tonight.”

-Master Cullen to Kari

Andrea has a bit of a troubled past. She’s been on her own since she was young and doesn’t need help from anyone. She has loved and lost at a young age. Andrea’s friend was able to pull some strings for her so she could join the Shadowlands club, an exclusive BDSM club. The problem is, she wants to submit but has trouble submitting to just anyone. She needs someone strong and tough, who can take her as is, not want her to change on the outside or the inside. Andrea has a sharp tongue, which is completely unacceptable for a dom, yet it brings so much fire to the story. It was a delight to see her speak her mind…then be punished.

I’ll be quite honest. Master Cullen didn’t move me as much in his novel as he did in the other books. His story was great to read, don’t get me wrong, I liked it a lot, but Master Dan still has my heart…so far.

Cherise Sinclair’s Shadowlands book are much more then most would think. When you hear BDSM books, you think sex. Well….yes, there will be sex. Lots of hot smoking, steaming, erotic sex. But there’s so much more to her stories too. You begin to feel a connection to the characters, as if you’ve known them for years. These books won’t make you cringe or hold your breath. They’ll make you feel many different emotions as well as beautiful. They did for me at least. You’ll want to hold on with a firm grip to this tight little knit family and not let go. I call it a family simply because they are so open and honest with each other; accepting each for who they are. And I loved every minute of it.

A favorite scene of mine-

Stopping. Even as she whimpered, he smacked her leg one more time. “Why?”She couldn’t think., everything burned and throbbed as need churned inside of her. He wouldn’t let her move. He held her…he hurt her…he kept her safe…“Why Andrea?”“He isn’t you.” The words burst from within her. “I trust you.” Her head bowed as she whispered, “I only want you.”

We also meet Master Marcus in this book. All I can say is…WHOA! I can not wait to read his book!On a side note: I still don’t understand the whole public play thing. It’s just not my thing. But I feel it fits this series just right and therefore I am…ok with it…now. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you just skip right over it and keep on reading. Of course you’ll miss some hot and steamy scenes, but as long as you keep reading, then you’re all good.

Two kinds of women get under your skin. The ones who do damage, they don’t feel good there but once you’re fuckin’ stupid enough to let them in you got no choice but to take the time it takes to work them out. Then there are the ones who don’t do damage, who feel good there, feed the muscle, the bone, the soul, not rip it or break it or burn it. The ones you don’t wanna work out.” -Tate

This book turned out to be surprisingly very good. Way better than I expected. There’s enough emotion, heat, romance, surprises and suspense, to keep you so wrapped up you won’t be able to put it down. Kristen Ashley can tell an awesome story and she will leave you wanting more. I was ready to delete it from my kindle at about 11% because I couldn’t handle the editing, or lack thereof I should say, but I had to see what all the hype was about so I pushed through it all. And I am so glad I did.

If you have a problem with typos, then I would advise you not to read this book. It is filled to the rim with them. This woman is the queen of run on sentences, parenthesis, commas, colons, and any other punctuations you can think of. But despite all my complaints about the typos, and I had a lot of complaints, she makes up for it with Tate. What a yummy alpha male! If you’re into a male who is an over the top alpha to the core, with a dirty smooth talking mouth, then this book is for you! I love my males to be big assholes, because under all that aggression and attitude is a soft teddy bear that knows how to work it just right. And let me tell you can Tate work it, baby! I’ll be looking for more books by Kristen Ashley very soon.

Funny thing. I hardly noticed any typos in the hot steamy romance scenes she wrote…or maybe I was too distracted with Tate to notice them….

I actually called Amazon and questioned the lack of editing. I’ve never done that before, but I was so irritated with it that I had to open my mouth. Apparently, they had an updated version of it and I had them send it to my kindle. I’m so glad too, because I would like to reread this book again one day.

There have been a number of break out authors this year, and Amy is one of them. In my opinion, I feel that Amy Lichtenhan is the female version of Nicholas Sparks. Whenever I pick up a book by Sparks, I am immediately sucked into his world as if I’m really there living it; it’s very realistic. And that’s how I feel about Amy’s book. I was instantly hooked from the beginning. I started this book at 10pm last night and didn’t stop reading until I finished the entire book, which was at 2 in the morning, with blurry eyes no less. But I didn’t care, I was determined to finish it. I was too involved in this story to put it down. Why is it that I love the tear-out-your-heart kind of novels the most? Maybe because I am able to feel so many emotions going through me while reading them? Maybe because it makes it feel so real…oh, I don’t know. I felt love, hatred, joy, sadness, pain, betrayal, contentment and so many more. This is truly a great read and I am so glad my friend, Katya, recommended it to me. I know this author also has another novel out called Pulled, and I can not wait to get my hands on it. I just know it’s going to be amazing.

Take This Regret is about a young college couple madly in love. With plans in place to go to law school together, an unexpected surprise forces each of them to make a decision that could alter their plans. Since Elizabeth wants to be a child advocate, she already knows her answer and she expects the same from the man she is in love with. She expects him to be there and work things out…together. Well, they both were in for a rude awakening when Christian forces Elizabeth to chose between him and the baby. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it would come to this. But oftentimes decisions are made with regrets soon to follow.

Having been a young mother myself, I instantly felt the connection with Elizabeth. I knew my decision instantly, just like Elizabeth did when she found out; I was going to have a baby and my life was going to change irrevocably. I was 18 when my first son was born, whereas Elizabeth was about 20 or 21. It’s a struggle beyond what most can imagine: to support and love your child, while taking care of your youthful self. I lost a lot of friends along the way, but the most important ones stood by my side, just like Matthew did for Elizabeth. You make the sacrifices necessary in order to be there for your baby, even if it means a change of plans. Elizabeth was unable to go to law school, just like I wasn’t able to go to college. The thought of having to put my baby in daycare was unacceptable, just like it was for Elizabeth. You will find ways to make it work. I was lucky enough to have my love stand by my side, whereas Elizabeth was without her love for five years. I think this novel is somewhat personal for the author. She was able to evoke so much out of me (and fellow readers) and I feel as though she had to have lived it to understand so much. Maybe I’m wrong…I don’t know. Raising a child so young was the most difficult thing in all of my life, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. Things work out the way they are supposed to, just like they did for Elizabeth and Christian….even though it took 5 years for them to realize it.

I just want to thank Katya for telling me about this author. I loved it so much and if you hadn’t told me about it I may have never found it. xoxox

Lucy’s trembling fingers came to his lips, caressing them gently. “Are you sure? How do you know it’s not just about sex?” “It’s about sex….sex with your mind, sex with your soul, sex with the color of your eyes, the smell of your skin. I want to sleep in your bed. I want you to be the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see at night. I love you the way I thought I could never love someone.”

*swoon*

Well, she did it again. Lisa Kleypas has struck gold with the first book of her new series, Rainshadow Road. How does she do it every time? Once I started this book I wasn’t able to put it down….but that happens every time I read a Klyepas book. I’m beginning to feel envious of Lisa and I’m not even a writer, nor do I have aspirations to be one! Her work is fantastic every single time! Can she even write a bad book? The imagery she paints sets you right in the story without anything missing. Amazing! As always, Lisa Kleypas does not disappoint. You’ll be drawn by the magical colors, infectious humor and the love two people can share. This is surely another wonderful book to add to my Lisa Kleypas collection. Easily one of my favorites!

SPOILERS!Lucy and her sister, Alice, grew up in a strict household. The girls always followed the rules and never spoke out…always behaving as told…until everything changes when Alice falls ill with Meningitis. Forced to go to the neighbor’s house while Alice is at a doctor appointment, Lucy discovers the beauty of art glass. She is mesmerized by the changing of colors and shapes it can yield….setting in motion her fate. Once Alice is better and released from a stay at a hospital, she is granted whatever she wants. It’s all about Alice now. Doing what she wants when she wants, with Lucy’s parents constantly telling her, “not now Lucy”, leaving Lucy vying for her parents’ attention.

Fast forward to Lucy’s early twenties. Lucy never gave up on her love of glass. She knew as a young child what she wanted. Sometimes all you need is a little magic and belief in yourself. Lucy is now making a steady career with her passion of art glass. She has been in a relationship with Kevin for two years now and even though Lucy has some trust issues, she feels like she has made progress with Kevin, not to mention she loves him. They bought a house together and he’s taught her so much in life making her wonder how she can be so fascinated with him. It’s the little things he does that bring her joy. Her life is great, that is, until Kevin drops the bomb that he wants to separate. He has been seeing and sleeping with her sister, Alice. To Lucy, not only is this a complete and utter shock, but just another way of Alice getting her way. Lucy has helped Alice countless times over the years with whatever she has needed. But this time Alice has crossed the line and Lucy cannot forgive either of them for what they have done to her. Do you blame her?

Immediately after Kevin ended their relationship, he told Lucy she must leave so that her sister could move in. With no plans of anywhere to stay, she learned that her friends had a vacancy in their bed and breakfast home. While out one night having drinks, her fortune finally takes a turn for the better when she runs into a man she met a few weeks earlier along the shoreline. Coincidentally, he happens to be friends with Lucy’s friends who own the home she has been staying in. The sparks that were left simmering slowly start to ignite, just like they did that one rainy night.

While Lucy is trying to keep a platonic relationship with Sam, an unexpected accident leaves Lucy in Sam’s care. Lucy is noticing what an honest caring man Sam is. He’s intelligent, makes her laugh, and he’s hot to boot! But there’s one little problem: Sam is not a family man and he wants to stay a bachelor for the rest of his life! However, he too finds magic between them that is too hard to fight. Will Sam resist his feelings for Lucy? Or will he take a chance on what could be the love of a lifetime?

“Let me have you,” he had whispered, resting his forehead on hers. “Let me make love to you all night. I want to wake up with you again. Just tell me what you need, Lucy, and I’ll do it.” -Sam to Lucy SPOILERS END

Colors are a big part in this book, so you’ll need to let your imagination run wild with them.

“The early evening had turned the sky a dark purple, with an overlay of clouds like the silvery wax bloom on a plum.”

The colors are absolutely beautiful! That was probably one of my favorite parts too; reading the description of the colors. Whether it’d be the sky, the glass Lucy made, the ocean, a glass window, it was just….wow! So vibrant! But it had to be done just right too because of Lucy’s passion for art, and naturally it was. I would love to see where Lisa got her ideas for this book. I’ve always been big on colors so this was a fantastic read for me.

As ever, Lisa is well versed in writing her books. Whether it be her historicals or contemporaries, you can tell she did her homework and checked it repeatedly. This woman doesn’t miss a beat! As readers, we want the book cover to match what the book is about. And I have to say, I couldn’t have chosen a better book cover for this book. It was what the book was about and of course with stunning colors. Really, Lisa, you are amazing!

Here are some of my favorite parts of the book:

“Some distraction would be nice.” Lucy looked down at the periodic table that covered the front of her shirt. “Where is glass?” she asked, trying to read the chemical elements upside down. “Not on the periodic table. Glass is a compound. It’s mostly silica, which is….crap, I can’t think straight. It’s SiO2. Here…” He touched the Si, which happened to be located high on the right side of her chest. “And here.” The pad of his thumb brushed the O on her left side, close to the tip of her breast. “Glass also has sodium carbonate,” she said. “I think that’s….” Sam paused, struggling to concentrate. “…Na2CO3.” He studied to front of her shirt and shook his head. I can’t show you the sodium carbonate. Dangerous territory.” “What about calcium oxide?” His gaze scanned the shirt until he found it. He shook his head. “I’d have you on your back in about five seconds.”

Pushing away from her, Sam went to a tall stool and sat negligently. “Apparently, Kevin and Alice think the solution is to set you up with someone. They want some guy to romance you until you’re so full of endorphines, you won’t have a problem with them getting married anymore.” “And you’re suppose to be that guy?” she asked incredulously. “Mr. Endorphins?” “Speaking.”

“I look like a geek,” Lucy said. “I smell like a brewery. And I need a bra.” “My dream date.”

“I don’t trust my instincts where men are concerned,” Lucy said. “It’s like this article I read the other day about the decline of the firefly population. One of the reasons they’re disappearing is because of modern artificial lighting. Fireflies can’t find the signals of their mates, because they’re so distracted by porch lights, street lamps, illuminated sign letters…” “Poor things,” Zoe said. “Exactly,” Lucy said. “You think you’ve found the perfect mate and you head for him, blinking as fast as you can, and then you find out he’s a BIC lighters. I just can’t handle that again.”

In defense of geeks,” Justine said, “they’re great in bed. They fantasize a lot, so they’re really creative. And they love to play with gadgets.” As the two started laughing, Justine handed them a glass of wine. “Here. Whatever else you may say about Sam, he makes fantastic wine.”

“I don’t love you. Tell me you feel the same way.”

A big thank you to St. Martin’s press for sending me this advanced copy. I loved every minute of it.

Calm down ladies…before you go crazy on me and try to hunt me down to get this, I received this to review from the publisher.

I’ll be spending my night with Fifty!

Update since finishing the book.

Oh Fifty! What happened to you? You are a changed, changed man and I don’t I like it one bit! What happened to the domineering, authoritative, bossy, I don’t-take-no-for-an-answer man we all fell in love with?

The book starts out with Ana and Christian on their honeymoon. They spend three weeks jetting across Europe and wrapped in each others arms every chance they get. It’s so beautiful too, the love they have for each other. Christian is determined to give Ana the rainbows and butterflies she wants….and she gets it the entire book. Christian loves Ana probably more than life itself, yet she doubts it all the time. It’s so romantic how much he loves her, truly. Only if all the woman in the world could be loved the way Fifty loves Ana. *swoon*

There isn’t much that has changed since the last book. We left off with someone after Christian and Ana, so there is a slight suspense to this read. The time will come when we find out who it is and the reasoning behind it….We still have Fifty keeping secrets from Ana, ALL THE TIME! What kind of marriage is that? I understand he wants to protect her and give her the world, but it gets to be a bit of a nuisance when he’s withholding from her constantly. Ana is still struggling with her insecurity. I will say she does better with it in the end. She manages to defy order after order Christian gives her, but I liked that she did. It made it fun and exciting. Ana becomes somewhat stubborn. She wants what she wants and that’s it. While the romance is still hot and steamy…I wanted more. It just wasn’t enough for me. I can say there are a few hot and erotic parts of this book that will forever be seared into my brain…..I am definitely ok with that! The problem I have is that I find it hard to believe, Christian, who needs to be so in control, can be ok without playing now. It was all he knew! Some who read this will say there is playing, but I would have to disagree with that. Having Ana’s hands tied up for literally a minute or two and a slap here and there can’t possibly satisfy Christian’s needs. But maybe that’s why this book is called, Fifty Shades Freed. Because he is freed from his past sexual needs? You’ll have to read it to find out….

Ana grows a spine and stands up to Christian. About time woman! It was definitely called for too, especially for what he does. I LOVED that part! Christian finally reveals to Ana what happened with Mrs. Robinson when they first met. In the end, surprises and secrets await and they will leave the fans wanting more. Oh, and Ana calls red….

I was a little afraid to post a review for this book. There are some diehard Fifty fans out there, me being one of them. Please do not get discouraged with this review and rating. We all have different views. While I think it’s only a three star read, you may think it’s a five star read. Unfortunately, I felt that this book didn’t reach it’s peak like the others. Just when I got excited about something new and suspenseful happening, it was taken care of right then and there, over with. There were some parts felt very rushed to me. My only guess is that the author wasn’t ready for all the hype that surrounded the first two books. So in an effort to give readers another story they were asking for, she put this book together in a haste, trying to make it better and over the top….and it just wasn’t. Again, my opinion.

I believe readers will be very happy with this ending. I know I am. I wanted to give the book more than three stars because of the ending, but I didn’t. I can’t rate a book based on one certain part. My rating is based on the whole book itself and that’s why for the three stars. I think the last 25% of the book was the absolute best for me….and probably most readers. You will be ecstatic when you read it!

I will always have a special place in my heart for The Fifty Shades Trilogy. I do love them very much. The second book will always be my favorite and I’m sure I will be rereading them for many years to come. Who knows, I may like the third book even more the second time I read it.

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Maybe because I haven’t read too many bdsm novels before or because I’ve only read the “good” side of bdsm. Well, this was the “good” and the “bad” side of bdsm and I was captivated by it.

I’m not sure why either. At first, I thought the heroine (Kat) was a very damaged woman. I was wrong. I didn’t understand at all why she wanted love the way she did. The more I read the more I understood her and what she wanted….and I was ok with it. I personally am not one for bdsm, but it is interesting to read. I think this book made it ok for me…in a way. The spankings and submission is truly what Kat needed.

I have always said that I will never ever stand by and be verbally and physically abused, that’s goes for sexually abused as well. I grew up around people verbally and physically abusing each other. I’m not sure why woman do it, I can only imagine why, but I know for sure that I would not and could not let that ever happen to me. It’s one thing to like sex rough, there are times when we all want it (let’s be honest), but its another to be called ‘slut’ while you’re having it or to be slapped so hard you have bruises on you. And that’s what happened in this book. I was totally taken back by it since I’ve never read it before, let alone let that happen to me.

I should start off by saying that this story has two main focuses…in a way, and two different time lines, which most people might have a problem with. I didn’t. I actually enjoyed reading the different time lines, because, well, it was done just right. Each chapter was either past or present time. I wasn’t lost or confused and I looked forward to each chapter. There are also two point of views as well. Again, not hard to follow and you get the hang of it early on. We have the main couple, David and Kat and the secondary couple, David’s parents, Richard and Ellen. And although the story is meant to focus on David and Kat, the parents are such a strong focus as well.

David’s father, Richard, sees woman as a lesser equal. He believes woman are suppose to submit and obey to men. David doesn’t agree. But he wants to make his father proud so he starts to follow what his father says and make up lies to please him along the way….that is until Kat shows up. I lost so much faith in David….even though Kat was on board with it all.

David and Kat are both in college when they meet, starting off as lab partners. Their relationship is purely platonic yet both having feelings for each other. David feels an instant attraction to her and fights it as long as he can, that is until they meet by chance at the same club. Surprisingly to both, they enjoy the same flavor of love making. But David doesn’t know what it means to be a Dom. So Kat takes the initiative and tops from the bottom, guiding David into the role of the dominate.

This book was so out of my comfort level but I think it’s what I needed too. We see what it’s like to be abused and loved at the same time. This book has a lot of sex in it but it needs to have it in order to understand the story. It was graphic but not dirty graphic…again, it’s needed. There were some reviews I read where people were actually stunned with how David’s mother, Ellen, acted after Richard’s death. How can you be surprised by it! It was abused on so many levels (for 30 years!) it was scary! She probably saw it as a relief that he was no longer there to torture her and her son David.

I truly felt that David and Kat loved each other more than words can express….even though at time I wanted to strangle David for what he allowed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. A lot. I was a little upset with the ending though and how rushed it felt. We have this long drawn out mentally draining story, a great story, but the end was wrapped up so quickly that I can’t help but be little upset about that. Kat’s ex-Dom is called in to help with some issues and I expected more out of that. I was beyond excited when he was called in too. In the end, this book is worth more than the 99 cents it’s price at on Amazon.